Screen Name

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

This Facebook account is already present

Your Club account has been locked due to a breach of our Terms of Service. Please set up a new account in line with the Club rules. Review the Club Rules. Alternatively, you can email us by completing our contact form.

Please enter a valid email address

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

Overview

Etoile eye consolation

As unexpected as this may seem, Etoile Sportive du Sahel will be
going into Sunday's match for third place at Japan 2007 with a
sense of regret. Despite losing in the semi-final to Argentinian
powers Boca Juniors, the African champions can feel proud of their
performance. They were solid in defence and played plenty of
stylish one-touch football, much to the appreciation of the crowd
at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

"I think this was the best my team has ever played,"
said Bertrand Marchand after the match. "We were lacking a bit
of experience and we didn't have the talent that they had.
We're not as ruthless as a team like Boca, and it's the
little things like that which decide the result..."

An early injury (with Muri Ola Ogunbiyi having to go off after
10 minutes), a goal conceded at the worst possible moment, the odd
50-50 call that did not go in their favour, a few shots that were
mere inches wide of the target, a little bit of panic setting in...
These indeed were the little things which decided the result and
are what Sahel will have to work on if they are to make it into the
elite of world football.

"You can't really feel too disappointed tonight
though," said captain Saif Ghezal to
FIFA.com. "We weren't just drawn against
anyone, this was Boca Juniors we were playing. I'm frustrated
about the fact that we let a goal in at a time when we were on top.
You lose concentration for a few seconds and the damage is done.
That's what happens at the top."

After Neri Cardozo had opened the scoring, Sahel were under the
cosh for a few minutes before beginning the push for an equaliser.
For a while, it was Amine Chermiti, Ghezal, Afouan Gharbi and
Gilson Silva who were making all the play while world-class talents
such as Rodrigo Palacio, Martin Palermo and Sebastian Battaglia
were on the back foot. Though the goal never came, Sahel's
performance is grounds for optimism ahead of Sunday's
third-place match.

"We really want to finish third. And I think that we
deserve it. We'll have to play to our full potential, but we
proved tonight that we can be more than a match for any
opponents," said Sabeur Frej. "We don't want to be
thinking of what might have been once we fly home from Japan,"
continued Ghezal.

"We gave it our best shot against Boca, and we really
want to finish in the top three," he added. "If we end up
with two wins from our three matches, it will be a real source of
pride, for Tunisia and for the whole continent."

Few would have thought before the competition began that the
African champions would have been on the same level as the
world's best teams. Judging by the disappointment on the
Pachuca players faces after they lost their quarter-final to Sahel
and the relief shown by Boca when the final whistle blew in the
semi, the Tunisians are very much the surprise package.

Etoile's French coach is aware of their reputation, or lack
thereof, which is why the match for third place is such an
important one. "It's quite an achievement for us to be in
a third-place play-off," said Marchand, "but we've
proved that African club football is in good shape. This is why we
came here. Now we've got to keep it up for another 90 minutes.
I'm sure that it will be a matter of honour for my players to
go out and secure third place."